Things are very busy at Chelsea Market Baskets now… I am traveling to ISM or the International Confection Market in Cologne, Germany to see and visit with people we do business with and see if there are new “sweets” which is very broadly inclusive, that we can import to CMB and expand our assortment of inspired foods.  I find this show to be one of the best ones in that it is a worldwide show of anything related to sugar and food and beyond, so it has very good implications for our business.

In addition I hope to be in Paris for a few days, where I have not been in many, many years, experiencing one of the better “food towns” of the world.  I look forward to reporting back on my travels.  Also we have a shipment coming in on Monday which includes Prestat Chocolate from London, England, that we will be selling at Henri Bendels on 5th Ave, starting on Tuesday.

We also have an exciting chocolate line that we discovered at the Chocolate Show called Comptoir du Cacao (www.comptoircacao.fr) from outside Paris coming in… more to come and to taste.

See Health Benefits of Green Tea

How about Green Tea Broth with Udon Noodles

• On the first day of Christmas – Cucina “Risotto Bag” gift pack, available in three fragrances and less than $20!

• On the second day of Christmas – Aromatherapy Candles the can inspire, stimulate and relax with completely natural fragrances.

• On the third day of Christmas – A New York City dish towels that includes some hand stitching and highlights New York Cities greatest attractions!

• On the forth day of Christmas – Take time for tea with Tea Forte’s Dolce Vita sweet pyramid tea bags, beautifully packaged and creating a true tea experience.

• On the fifth day of Christmas – our friends from Seattle created caramels with a touch of smoked or fleur de sel, salt, now everybody is doing it but they did first and better! Fran’s Chocolates is an original!

• On the Sixth day of Christmas – our friend from Southhampton, New York – Kathleen with her legendary crispy cookie recipe now available with dark chocolate, walnuts, wholewheat floor and glutton free – all from Tate’s Bake Shop.

• On the seventh day of Christmas – Anne Taintor, whose graphics and phrases have humored us for a decade now has a brand new recipe book to be even happier, a cocktail happy hour book.

• On the eighth day of Christmas – from war time England in the early forties comes the phrase, Keep Calm and Carry On, which has many, many applications in our times, and is the perfect complement to a good cup of tea.

• On the ninth day of Christmas – make time for a beer and although you will need a little time to brew it but it sure tastes good home-made – kits from Brooklyn Brew Shop!

• On the tenth day of Christmas – While you are waiting for the beer to brew, our favorite NYC snack from the East Village Red Head Restaurant is Bacon Peanut Brittle, spicy, slightly sweet and smokey – you can not stop.

On the eleventh day of Christmas - Imported from the Aisle of anglesey in northern Wales,  Halon Mon Salt, in original, smoked and with celery, with its clear sea flavor and delicate texture, it is the perfect finishing salt.

• On the twelfth day of Christmas – Butter, sugar and floor with some tweaking, makes for the perfect bit of crunchy sweetness – Shortbread House of Edinburgh is why Scotland is famous for shortbread!

Now it is time to rest and think about next year!

We all at CMB wish you and your family a happy, healthy and of course tasty holiday and New Year.

I thought I would share a little of the behind the scenes process of creating the catalog.

Creating our yearly catalog helps us define and grow our business. We are always on the look out for new and different products – from down the street, to the other side of the world. Creating the catalog forces us to make many decisions about our assortment-what new items to buy and what items to discontinue.

We look to evolve our gifts over time, slight modifications to selected baskets are made each year. This allows us to share our most recent findings with our current customers as well as new customers.   We also have fun developing a new crop of gift each year, this year we have many gifts that feature foods from different geographic regions- such as Brooklyn, New England and California.

Once we decide on the assortment and components in the gifts, we photograph the items. Taking a photo of a gift that includes many components is not always easy – it takes both art and science to get a shot that best represent the item.

The same team has worked together for many years now adding their piece of the puzzle: David the owner traveling to different parts of the world to find food, Mickey Mathis the photographer, and Amy Ashford our graphic designer and myself as the “stage director” making sure all the pieces come together.

Once the photographs are taken, the images are carefully cleaned-up and we go to work on the layout of the catalog, once all the proofs and edits are made the final product is sent to the printing house.

In the below picture, David (owner) and I are setting up the Chelsea Market Bounty basket during one of our photo-shoots.

Some new items we are excited about this are year:

NYC Hot Chocolate- All the best NYC hot chocolate mixes and drinks in one basket.

Brooklyn Boys- Handmade foods all made in the trendy borough of Brooklyn.

Edible New England- Sweet and Savory products all made in New England and boxed in our “new” New England boxes.

California Dreamin- A gift that highlights California and their diverse food culture.

British Tea and Biscuits- From across the Atlantic we have selected the best biscuits, aka cookies for this gift, all boxed up in our modern British box.

Here is a link to our full catalog:
CMB Holiday Catalog 2011 (pdf)

A few of the seasonal items include:

The Madeleine Chocolate Company- A 60 year-old chocolate company that follows a special Swiss formula to create their quality chocolates, CMB carries caramel filled apples, peanut butter covered chocolate pumpkins, Deuets, Double filled chocolate Truffles, which are a unique blend of double filled truffles including, peanut butter & caramel, Milk Truffle & White Truffle, Raspberry & White Truffle and Halloween balls; dark, crisp and milk.   (Ranges between $2.00 to $6.00)

Meri Meri Cupcake Kits- The Meri Meri Halloween Cupcake Kit is a fresh and innovated cupcake decorating kit; including 24-cupcake liners in black and orange, and toppers are designed in Ghost, witch, vampire and skull.   They are cute and will make cupcake decorating fast and easy. ( $11.95)

Farmer’s Popcorn Cob- Craving a little something outside of the Halloween chocolate norm?  This is a fun wholesome straight from the farm treat.   Kids will love watching the corn pop fresh off the cob in the microwave.  ($3.75)

American Spoon Pumpkin Butter- Sweetened with maple sugar and spiced like pumpkin pie, this incredibly popular butter is great on English muffins or toast. American Spoon suggests that you warm the pumpkin butter and service it over ice cream.  ($7.50)

Bi-Rite is run by Sam Monagnnnam. He grew up in the store which was owned by his father and uncle. In the 1980′s Bi-Rite was a working man’s grocery store that sold some food and a good deal cheap wine. After college,  Sam had a variety of food related jobs, including working in Europe, where Sam experienced how food is primarily sold in smaller stores and shoppers had fewer choices than in the US. But the products offered in those small European stores had more quality and integrity.

Back home in San Francisco, Sam bought out his father and uncle, and transformed Bi-Rite into one of the most influential community markets in the nation. Now, when I visit San Francisco for the Winter Fancy Food, I always make it a point to stop there and see the business. And as I browse this great little store, I always recognize a few other food professionals sniffing around.

Sam will be in our store October 29 starting at 2 pm to sign his just published book Bi-Rite Market’s EAT GOOD FOOD. Come meet Sam, learn about his business that includes a farm and an adjoining ice cream business and pick up a copy of this Californian original’s passionate words about food and what we should eat.

In NYC the weather has changed and harvest is here. CMB celebrates the new season with bold autumn tastes.

One of the items that we are excited about is Süss – Sweets that make you smile.

Homemade in New Hampshire, these caramels came about because friends and family encouraged Tammy Fahey to take her caramels to a local farmers market. After her debut at the farmers market she knew she has something special (We think so too!).

The Süss (Means sweet in German) caramels are made with all natural ingredients; each batch is made by hand, including the pouring, cutting and wrapping. The ¼ lb rolls can be sliced to share or easily kept for your own enjoyment.

They are soft & chewy, but not sticky, so your teeth will be fine… The favors include, pumpkin caramel with sea salt, vanilla & pecan, and cinnamon apple. $8.95 

Doin’ the Pickleña is another hot and cool company from Westport, CT!!!

Coke Anne and Jarvis Wilcox started their pickle company because they would receive delicious jalapeno pickles from a friend every year but always thought there was something missing! They finally realized they weren’t Texan enough.  As a result, they gave their restaurant chef a challenge, to make a Jalapeno Pickle that screamed Texas, and they finally figured it out!

Doin’ the Pickleña is their vision of  perfect pickles, robust combination of sliced pickled Kirby cucumbers with jalapeno, red peppers, and onions.  At CMB we carry both the hot and cool versions; either of these can be used to liven up things, like tuna salad, egg salad, hamburger or a cheese platter.  $9.00 a jar

Sonoma Syrup Co. created in 2002 by life resident of the Sonoma, California, Karin Campion.

She developed the idea for the company when she was experimenting with ingredients from her kitchen garden and simple syrup. Growing up in the region known for world-class blending and ingredients she uses these principles with her syrups.  Hand crafted in small batches, these simple syrups can be used in coffee, tea, cocktails, sorbets, sodas, and lemonades or cooking.

To try this product line, I took home the Grenadine No. 28 and made a Tequila sunrise and of course everyone’s favorite Shirley Temple.  This product did not disappoint, my one Tequila sunrise turned into two…

The Grenadine from Sonoma Syrups uses over 45% pure pomegranate juice.  The syrup is thick with a deep red/brown color, exactly like the outside of a pomegranate.  The syrup is not sweet and taste like the fruit that it is make from but with hints of vanilla.

This is nothing like the red liquid that is passed as Grenadine in your local grocery store.

CMB also carries Sonoma Syrups Co., Olive Juice, Sweet & Sour, Classic Simple Syrup, Mint Infused Simple syrup, Vanilla Bean and Meyer Lemon. Priced between $7.95-$11.95.

Sonoma Syrup Company Website

There are 24 individually wrapped teas in the beautiful frosted box. You get 12 different teas ranging from green, black, tchai and fruit flavors. The teas are specially selected for their taste when iced but are equally nice when had hot. Kumsi say “Allow 2 sachets of Kusmi tea to infuse for 3-4 minutes in ¼ of a liter of simmering purewater. Pour the infusion into a 1 liter pitcher, ¾ filled with ice cubes, and mix well. Your Kusmi tea is ready to drink!.”

But I found an even better way to do it is to maybe put a sachet into half a liter, let it cool then put in a covered container in the fridge over night. (Covered because liquids evaporate). You can even leave the tea bag in, as long as it’s not green tea because that goes bitter if it’s over brewed. This way in the morning you have strong cold tea that you can then ice and dilute. I even carry the tea around in water bottles during the day and it makes for a much more interesting beverage than water, is inexpensive and is good for you.

My favorite teas are the Imperial Label and Sweet Love. There’s definitely something for everyone in here. A few times I have put sprigs of mint and peppermint from the garden into my teas as well. They are so flavorsome though that they are excellent by themselves.

Thanks to Kusmi, I’ve curbed my caffeine addiction and found that inviting people around for afternoon ice tea is a nice and wholesome means of socializing. I’d highly recommend this to the iced beverage connoisseur. $21.95 a box of 24 tea bags

about the author

This was blog post was written by Michelle Doyle who is from Ireland and has been in the states for a few months.  She is an aspiring artist who’s interests include food, art, film cycling! She is on the staff in the store.

Scott’s BBQ Sauce
Goldsboro, North Carolina

Scott’s spicy, BBQ mop sauce is truly what it claims to be…an all purpose sauce! The thin texture and strong vinegar base make this a great compliment to barbeque chicken, seafood, and grilled vegetables.  If you like it thin and hot, Scott’s is for you!  For an off the wall recommendation, try using it as a salad dressing for a grilled flank steak, Southwestern-style salad! $3.95

Rufus Teague Made Some Sauce— Touch O’ Heat
Kansas City, Missouri
Touch O’ Heat describes this sauce perfectly.  If you like a touch of heat with your touch of sweet, then this is the sauce for you.  It’s the perfect amount of tanginess to give you spice-lovers the kick you’re looking for without overpowering the flavor of your meat.  The nice thick viscosity also makes this one a great BBQ dipping sauce! $5.95

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que— Sensuous Slathering
Upstate, New York

Just like the Harley riders that created it, this sauce is loud, smoky, spicy and a bit aggressive.  However, under that hard exterior is a tad bit of sweet making this a local must for your serious summer barbequing. Sensuously slather some of this delectable sauce on a rack today and make sure to leave some on the side for dipping. $7.50

The Salt Lick, Original Recipe
Austin, Texas

This is a great traditional, Texas-style BBQ sauce that nicely accentuates the smoky flavor of your barbeque chicken, brisket, pork, and of course, ribs.  The sweet yet spicy mustard-like aroma, coupled with its nice thick texture and subtle tastes of spicy mustard, garlic, onion and Worcestershire sauce will bring conjure up those childhood memories of family grill-outs and neighborhood block parties. $6.50

17th St BBQ Sauce, Original
Murphysboro, IL

Lots of flavors will hit your palate with this award-winning BBQ sauce.  A subtly sweet brown sugar undertone combines with the traditional flavors of ketchup, mustard, vinegar, and Worcestershire to delight your senses. This sauce’s thinner texture helps it really seep into the grooves of the meat providing delicious to-the-bone flavor. It’s no wonder that this sauce has coated the ribs that have earned “Best in the US” status. $6.95

American Spoon Cherry BBQ Sauce
Northern Michigan

This sauce is a great way to creatively experience the taste of Michigan cherries in New York!  The tart of the cherry in this grilling sauce balances out the sweet bringing this perfect Yin and Yang relationship to your summer dishes.  This sauce is a must, must, must for your pork tenderloin.  It also would be great on plump grilled shrimp or even on barbecue duck. $8.50

American Spoon Apple Cider Sauce
Northern Michigan

Like the Cherry BBQ Sauce, American Spoon’s Apple Cider Sauce is another great way to experience the fruit of Michigan all the way over here on the East Coast.  This is definitely for those desiring a sweet sensation. The roasted onions give this marinade a unique and addicting flavor making this a sauce you can use on just about anything! $8.50

After an intense day of tasting, we have two winners in the CMB Cross-Country BBQ Sauce Off. The results were based on trying each sauce on pulled pork, that was slow cooked in orange juice, scoring them on a scale of 1 thur 3- the bbq sauce with the highest average won the round.

In the first round of tasting:

• 1st place: Michigan’s American Spoon Cherry BBQ Grilling Sauce.
• 2nd place was Rufus Teague’s Touch of Heat
• 3rd place was North Carolina’s Scott’s Barbecue.

In the second round:

• 1st place: New York’s upstate contender, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que
• 2nd place: Texas’ Salt Lick Original
• 3rd place: 17th Street BBQ Sauce from Murphysboro, IL

Apparently CMB tasters like their sauces sweet or smoky.